Back in 2024, I had the pleasure of catching the latest iteration of Asia on a package tour rounded out by Focus, Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash, and Curved Air. Although Asia has always been a revolving door of a supergroup for anyone who’s paid attention to them past their eponymous blockbuster 1982 debut, I must admit that with only founding keyboardist Geoff Downes left in the fold from those early days, I was a tad skeptical. Said skepticism was swept away from the moment they opened with the classic “Wildest Dreams”. Newcomer Harry Whitley is a doppelganger of the late John Wetton, both vocally and on bass, while Arena guitarist John Mitchell and journeyman drummer Virgil Donati certainly put the “super” in supergroup. I said to myself that evening, “If only this lineup would legitimize themselves with a studio album.”
It took a couple years, but “Asia Mk. Who’s counting?” has done exactly that with their latest effort, Indigo. It’s their 14th studio album, their first since the 2017 passing of Wetton, and their first in general since 2014’s Gravitas. In other words, this is a band who has remained musically silent outside of live shows for the better part of 12 years. Subsequently, they have a lot of lost time to make up for, and a lot to say: 16 tracks over the course of an hour and 5 minutes to be exact. It certainly is a daunting runtime on paper, but again, let’s give these vets the benefit of the doubt, shall we?
Much like every Asia album before it, Indigo is an unabashed fusion of traditional English prog and slick, radio-friendly AOR, with some songs blurring the line between both altogether. This time around, the strongest moments happen to be the proggiest. The opening “The Traveller (Into the Light)” is a dramatic, heart-pounding, prog-AOR romp sounding straight out of the band’s heyday. As far as riffing, writing, and execution goes, this song goes toe to toe with any cut off the ’82 debut. Equally of note is the album’s centerpiece title track, “Tattoo Indigo”. Divided into 3 parts, this epic, with roots in Downes and Wetton’s final writing session, is an old school prog metal suite. Part 1 boasts the tasty, hard-edged musicianship of Purple, part 2 serves as the atmospheric mediator, and part 3 amps up the heaviness again, this time characteristic of Mitchell’s primary band, Arena.
There are also ballads. Lots and lots of ballads. Carrying on the tradition of “Heat of the Moment” and “Only Time Will Tell”, some hit the spot (i.e. “Arcadia”, “Is This the Life?”, “Life in the Sun”). Others, like “Valencia (The Ghost Ship)” and “On a Winter’s Night”, unfortunately, fall short. All the signature Asia tropes one would expect are there, but the songs themselves lack the memorability of the album’s strongest moments, slightly weighing down the affair as a result. We do, however, get a classic Asia semi-reunion on one of these ballads. The peaceful “Chesapeake Bay” was one of the last songs Wetton had written for the band, and features a cameo from none other than founding guitarist Steve Howe.
Despite its ups, downs, and colossal runtime, Indigo is a welcome entry into the Asia canon and cements this latest incarnation as worthy of carrying the torch. I’m sure there are no shortage of cynics who won’t even bother, arguing the legitimacy of Asia circa 2026 for only having one original member, which at this point in time, is better than zero (Looking at you, Foreigner). And you know what? That’s OK. Us diehard Asians (Is that what you’d call this fandom?) know better, and will continue to defend this band against the likes of Seth “HUHUHUHUH” Rogan.
7 out of 10
Label: Frontiers Records
Genre: Progressive Rock
For fans of: Yes, Saga, Magnum
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